User Engagement: Highways & By-laws
StumbleUponOn 18 May 2006 a cross-section of community managers, marketing and content creatives and other digital practitioners come together to explore and discuss the challenges of co-creation, regulation and maintaining safety in online communities and social networks...
This event saw a cross-section of community managers, marketing and content creatives and other digital practitioners come together on 18th May 2006 to explore and discuss the challenges of co-creation, regulation and maintaining safety in online communities and social networks...
Report By Deirdre Molloy
[Register and post your own comments on this article below...]
Chair Lizzie Jackson introduced the event by asking that we consider today�s discussion in terms of the implications of the new forces of Web 2.0 and user-generated content.
New legal regulations also impact this space, she noted.
� The EU Televison Without Frontiers� Directive � but where does TV end and online video, user-created content and IPTV begin?
� 2003 Communications Act (UK) that created the new regulatory body Ofcom.
� Case law mainly around libel and defamation, copyright and sexual activity with children.
Ofcom are currently very interested in media literacy, Lizzie noted, and have commissioned reports into literacy with regard to specific groups. Codes of conduct are another area: in chat rooms, for moderated areas, and on mobiles. Newly formed bodies � CEOPs www.ceop.gov.uk � are bringing together disparate police specialists and forces.
Lizzie explained that the title of her PhD dissertation is titled �Hosted Space� and observed that community managers are also starting to act a lot more as archivists. We should be moving from the early 1.0 moderation to moderation and hosting in Web 2.0. This new distributed environment might cause problems for those who seek to control it.
Striking a different note, she flagged-up two recent news headlines taken from Yahoo! News: �Congress Targets Social Networks� was the first; then: �China Cracks Down On Internet Cafes�.
AUDIENCE & USER ENGAGEMENT: Michela Ledwidge � MOD Films
After showing an extract from her film-in-progress, Michela explained that she was interested in how user-generated content and the like is affecting storytelling paradigms. The MOD Films business model is still evolving and they�re still in the R&D phase.
In 2001 she made a film �Horses 4 Courses� which all took place within a real-time 3D game environment. In retrospect she saw that it was more successful as a performance piece as people wanted to see what she would do in that space. The barrier to entry for film-makers online is now very low, she said name-checking Sanctuary as well as the community around her project, the �Mod Films Beta Band� at http://remixablefilms.multiply.com.
MOD in this case means modifications made by the audience. It is taken for granted in the games industry that this extends the lifespan of a game if you make it open for gamers to tweak and develop. Web-managed production uses the Web 2.0 paradigm to keep track of different threads of the project.
Think of the material on the cutting room floor that never gets seen, said Michaela, as it�s usually copyrighted �all rights reserved�. So instead she has used Creative Commons licences for all the material so nothing will be wasted even if it doesn�t make it into the final cut. It could feature in another version of the film, or in a contributor�s mash-up.
Green-light for remixing & innovation
A lot of discussion has taken place on the community forums. One of the reasons that the story has been written this way is to give the audience themselves the feeling that they taking can take part. This is the first film that has really cleared everything for remixing. Michela disputed the idea that film-makers will always resist other people remixing their work and pointed to the increasingly experimental efforts of Steven Soderburgh and the predictions of NVidia corporation (makers of graphics card technology) that �films will become the prime material source for games�.
Even though a lot of innovation has no business model it is essential that more and more of these experiments take place, she reasoned, because the models will emerge as mass participation accelerates. It�s also about keeping track of film sampling as a cultural process. People are already having an interactive experience around Sanctuary and having an input into this project before it�s even released.
DRM in the true sense of the word...
MOD Films will shortly be releasing a portal that will allow you to navigate film assets like an environment. It�s also about making films for the Semantic Web. It�s digital rights management in the true sense of the word as it�s about helping people manage their rights. The technology will still take a few years to consolidate, she admitted.
Lizzie asked if there is a web of MOD communities out there that Michela has been tapping into? There are a lot of VJs and laptop film-makers Michela explained, and VJ application developers. MOD Films hasn�t yet launched their own social media platform but rather are using other existing platforms at present to seed the discussion among the diaspora.
The main reason they chose CC licences as opposed to the Creative Archive licence is because Michela felt that the licence has to fit into a global rights framework and the CC licence fulfils this criteria.
Amy Jo Kim, Creator of the community strategy for The Sims produced guidelines that Lizzie has drawn on in her own work. These categorise the members of the community as visitor, novice, regular, leader and elder, but it�s the bridges between these states that are the most important parts and that take the most work for the facilitator in the shared space. The idea of the interactive presenter is another area to think about, said Lizzie, adding that she had worked for the BBC to develop the idea from which they created the console for Celebdaq.
ISPs: Camille De Stempel � AOL
In 1997 the Compuserve child pornography case embedded the notion of the conduit on ISPs. Then, in the drafting of the Communications Act of 2003, AOL worked hard with the DTI to have the web removed from regulatory control, instead positing it as a self-regulatory environment, which we should remember is already subject to the laws that already apply offline. Therefore, the web doesn�t need a further plethora of legislation.
In terms of TV Without Frontiers, the UK is the only government currently lobbying in favour of AOL�s and other ISP�s side. What regulation can we have for the second generation internet, Lizzie wondered. AOL are always coming from the point of view that self-regulation works, Camille replied. They also want to engage the government in understanding that there is new technology that allows AOL, for example, to be more flexible. You can�t regulate for trust, she stressed. That�s where self-regulation and working as part of an industry is quite important to AOL. In terms of spam, we throw away 1.5 billion emails a day. AOL are also getting more interaction from consumers that allows them to improve spam detection and filtering.
"Education, not regulation.."
Rather than regulation, they see the need to invest in education, Camille stressed. Research by the LSE and Ofcom is also contributing, and more research will help, not more regulation.
What of AOL in the future, Lizzie asked. The web is changing the world, Camille reflected with the anytime anywhere web, and the Long Tail of supply and demand. In the US they�ve launched �inTV�, a video on demand (VOD) system where you get old 70s and 80s TV series. They also want to facilitate on the social networking front, not with children but with other groups.
To facilitate all that content you need to have second generation broadband, you need to own that last mile, that thanks to local loop-unbundling (LLU) they can now control rather than BT.
Lizzie noted that AOL and Google are now going into the video market and Camille observed that it�s a great way of getting new content without reinventing the wheel.
What advice would she give in terms of opting for education and facilitation rather than regulation? Camille said that the LSE research has shown a big skills gap between parents and children. Once that was accepted as a normal generational thing, but now we should not let that go unchallenged. For example, the AOL parent tool lets parent and child know what is happening, hopefully fostering discussion between them. The major area of focus is how we can help users help themselves and she cited communities that help new users as key, like the super-users or leaders that Lizzie mentioned earlier.
Search and metatags are also increasingly important, Camille added, and this also relates to trust issues. Research on language in metatags is being undertaken to make it as neutral as possible.
Regulation can't keep pace with innovation
In terms of how the codes of conduct from the Home Office Task Force on Child Protection came about, Camille explained that best practice guidelines and codes of conduct are better than legislation as legislation can�t keep up with new products and technologies, nor fit with future products that don�t exist yet, hence the issues with �Television Without Frontiers�.
Sheila Sang of Powwow Interactive asked how AOL policy is evolving around journals and blogs, especially in terms of comments. We accept we have no control, Camille said, and AOL�s policy is now reactive. When you open a new company you have a compliance agenda that you have to tick. But be responsible rather than compliant, she suggested.
The (NSPCC delegate asked if all moderators are police-checked. Camille replied that it�s done by a US company and the police check is part of AOL policy guidelines, although it�s not actually required by law.
Rounding off the chat with Camille, Lizzie reflected that hosting is akin to the job of a presenter, making people comfortable and then stepping back to let people amuse themselves. The more facilitation you can do, the less moderation is required.
EU POLICY: (INTERNET SAFETY): Neil Malone � Cybersapce Research Unit
Looking at the Home Office Task Force and vertical regulation authorities, Neil raised the question of how we can work with user-generated and cross-platform content. Kids are using games to chat and socialise in, and these conversations are often layered and continued across instant messaging (IM). This is very difficult if not impossible to regulate.
From the EU perspective, the EU supports the self-regulatory approach. EU Initiatives include the IAP Code, the Eurobarometer (a survey of EU citizen attitudes), and AwareU. In the UK you have the Internet Task Force For Child Protection on the Internet which takes a multi-stakeholder approach. Neil has been involved in a sub-group of that task force � the Public Awareness group.
Their aims and objectives are:
� Better co-ordination of awareness materials, research and proactive approaches with other countries
� Help for parents in understanding the issues and tools
� nformation for childcare professionals
� Identifying counter-productive messages for children
� Identify those messages that are effective
Initiatives and successes include:
� Audit of and collaboration with 152 content providers
� Assessing emerging risks and looking at what�s coming next (the INSAFE project)
� Develop and promote a European portal for internet safety and awareness
� Provide training and support to national nodes
Innovating across platforms as digital natives move between them seamlessly
The Internet Safety Content Agent (ISCA) Project�s main objective is to disseminate internet safety and awareness-raising tools effectively, and they�ve developed a number of training and awareness events. Originally they wanted to develop a Wikipedia version of Internet Safety Zone (www.internetsafetyzone.com) with professionals - like those gathered at this event - adding, discussing and editing content. However, they have utilised a Content Management System so that this can be done on the live site itself. As kids can jump from one platform and technology to another, self-regulation becomes more important, Neil reflected, and vertical controls don�t work.
A delegate from Digital Outlook asked if they will be passing on this information on developing good practice to commercial digital marketing agencies like themselves who develop interactive entertainment often aimed at and consumed by children. The NSPCC delegate said the NSPCC didn�t know about this work. The delegate from CIMEX wondered if there was any research or analysis of the project�s impact. To these, Neil responded that the work could and would be more widely publicised and he invited everyone to check out the URLs he had given.
POLICY FOR THE 'DIGITAL SOCIAL' INDUSTRY: Tamara Littelton � Acting Chair, eMint & CEO, eModeration
Tamara discussed the concept of �best practice� and referred to the �Good practice guidance for the moderation of interactive services for children� launched in 2005. Providers of user generated content should take into account the following:
� Risk assessment
� Recruitment
� Training
� Data Security
� Management & Supervision
� Escalation procedures
Tamara supported the self-regulation approach, which works with the flexible and ever changing nature of community areas and interactive spaces, combined with the ongoing education programme driven by the Home Office.
In terms of recruitment requirements, she highlighted to the group that new enhanced checking procedures which involves a search of the database and records of offenders and those unsuitable to work with minors is due to be a legal requirement � an outcome of the DFES Bill For Protecting Vulnerable People.
With regards training and data security, many people are aware of the issues around data protection and the secure storage of personal details, however, companies also need to be aware of the obvious and yet forgotten rules. For example if a company is targeting a campaign or website at children, it is important not to allow them to display their personal contact details for all to see as that potentially makes them vulnerable.
The challenge of user-generated content
The explosion of commercial user generated content involving photos and videos has brought with it other new challenges in the moderation arena. Tamara showed the group an example photo which had been rejected by moderators where a child was in front of a house in a seemingly innocuous picture. However, she explained that it was possible to see the numberplate of the car parked in the driveway, the house number and the streetname, information which carries a potential risk, she noted.
Turning to escalation procedures, Tamara explained that the introduction of the Virtual Global Taskforce and the CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) had finally led to some official escalation paths for industry and individuals alike. She highlighted the child safety issues to bear in mind and gave advice on the escalation paths that should be followed including:
� Real-time UK online danger to children/child abuse crime (CEOP � www.ceop.gov.uk
� Real-time international child abuse crime (VGT - www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com)
� Online child abuse images/websites (the Internet Watch Foundation - www.iwf.org.uk
A query was raised as to the safety of social networks such as Bebo where kids put up their telephone numbers and other contact information. Tamara acknowledged that this involved a risk but encouraged the combination of safety measures but above all, education to encourage safer use of the internet by kids and teens. Lizzie commented that teenagers should be progressively introduced to risk, as that is part of the maturation process whereby they become capable of making judgements. Neil added that Bebo et al are realising the dangers of this and they have recently appointed someone to deal with this [*Note: It has subsequently been announced that Bebo have appointed Dr Rachel O�Connell, Director of the Cyberspace Research Centre, who was originally scheduled to speak at this event, as their Chief Child Safety Officer].
In addition to the in-house moderation team, peer-to-peer educational guidance was the most widely applied approach taken by Habbo Hotel (www.habbohotel.co.uk), a Habbo delegate explained, with 14-17-year old super-users taking the lead. It was noted however that they don�t all have the power to teach new users how to use the game, nor can the volunteers be relied upon (in the legal sense) to report bad or risky behaviour, however they are supported by moderators who perform that function.
See the original EVENT OUTLINE
About the Speakers:
Chair: Lizzie Jackson - Editor Internet Safety, BBC; former Manager of BBC Communities; conducting Doctoral research on the facilitation of user generated content.
Lizzie joined BBC Radio in 1982 becoming a senior studio manager in charge of Radio 4. She started Soundbite Productions Limited in 1992 producing series for BBC Radio 2 and 3. She re-trained in Multimedia at Birkbeck and was named 'Multimedia Student of the Year' by the DTI in 1997, this was followed by an EU Funded course for six Television and Radio Producers from across Europe on producing Multimedia run by the BBC, The University of The West of England, Swedish Television and the Institute of Sound and Light in Paris. In 1997 the BBC invited Lizzie to work in the team launching bbc.co.uk, where she co-created 'WebGuide' the BBC's guide to Internet websites, she then built up the BBC�s message boards, live chats and chatrooms from scratch becoming Editor of their online Community. In 1998 she worked with a small team to launch bbc.co.uk/asianlife which was nominated twice in the Guardian's 'Race in the Media Awards.' In 2002/3 Lizzie managed the BBC's Interactive Presenter Scheme, with BBC Talent. She was a founder member of Emint the online community for community professionals (www.e-mint.org.uk)
Michela Ledwidge - CEO, Mod Films
Michela is a film-maker and systems architect. In 2004, she founded MOD Films with an award from the UK National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts to produce re-mixable films and tools for film re-use. She has been a member of the UK Cabinet Office's Special Interest Group on Open Source Software, and the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Committee. In 2001 she made the short film Horses for Courses awarded the Web3d art prize at SIGGRAPH 2001. In 1993, she set up the first web site in Sydney and the new media consultancy, thequality.com, now based in London. http://michela.thequality.com
Camille De Stempel - Head Of Policy, AOL (UK)
Camille joined AOL in 1995 as Customer Services Manager, AOL France, and became Director of Security and Network Policy, AOL Europe, in February 1998. She was appointed Director of Public Policy, AOL Time Warner in 2002 and covers high priority matters such as law enforcement and security, child protection, data protection and consumer confidence issues from a policy perspective. She previously worked for telecoms companies having read Law at University Paris V. Camille is a board member of ICRA, Vice Chair of the Internet Watch Foundation and a member of the Internet Crime Forum. She sits on both the Law Enforcement and Internet Safety ISPA sub-groups. www.aol.co.uk
Rachel O'Connell - Director, Cyberspace Research Centre, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England.
The Cyberspace Unit is currently the UK co-ordinator within SafeBorders, another European Commission funded project working towards a multinational awareness campaign about a safer Internet. The Unit has also carried out research for the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills in the UK. Rachel sits on the Home Office Task Force and Department for Education & Skills Schools Internet Safety Strategy Group. She frequently speaks at online safety and child welfare conferences, and is regarded as an expert in her field by both the British and Irish media. www.internetsafetyzone.com/ Rachel was unable to attend and her colleague Neil Malone came in her place.
Tamara Littleton, Acting Chair eMint and CEO of eModeration
Now CEO of eModeration Limited, an online content moderation and reputation management company (www.emoderation.com), Tamara has an established background in editorial quality control, fault escalation and process management gained from previous work as Product Delivery Director for Chello Broadband, Online Operations Manager for BBC Online and a history in consultancy and publishing. She is a member of the Home Office Sub Committee advising the UK Government on moderation of communities to help safeguard children. She is also Acting chair of e-mint. Tamara is well respected in her arena having been involved in the internet since 1994 and part of the original team that started many of the early BBC communities online. www.emint.org/
Report By Deirdre Molloy
[Register and post your own comments on this article below...]
Chair Lizzie Jackson introduced the event by asking that we consider today�s discussion in terms of the implications of the new forces of Web 2.0 and user-generated content.
New legal regulations also impact this space, she noted.
� The EU Televison Without Frontiers� Directive � but where does TV end and online video, user-created content and IPTV begin?
� 2003 Communications Act (UK) that created the new regulatory body Ofcom.
� Case law mainly around libel and defamation, copyright and sexual activity with children.
Ofcom are currently very interested in media literacy, Lizzie noted, and have commissioned reports into literacy with regard to specific groups. Codes of conduct are another area: in chat rooms, for moderated areas, and on mobiles. Newly formed bodies � CEOPs www.ceop.gov.uk � are bringing together disparate police specialists and forces.
Lizzie explained that the title of her PhD dissertation is titled �Hosted Space� and observed that community managers are also starting to act a lot more as archivists. We should be moving from the early 1.0 moderation to moderation and hosting in Web 2.0. This new distributed environment might cause problems for those who seek to control it.
Striking a different note, she flagged-up two recent news headlines taken from Yahoo! News: �Congress Targets Social Networks� was the first; then: �China Cracks Down On Internet Cafes�.
AUDIENCE & USER ENGAGEMENT: Michela Ledwidge � MOD Films
After showing an extract from her film-in-progress, Michela explained that she was interested in how user-generated content and the like is affecting storytelling paradigms. The MOD Films business model is still evolving and they�re still in the R&D phase.
In 2001 she made a film �Horses 4 Courses� which all took place within a real-time 3D game environment. In retrospect she saw that it was more successful as a performance piece as people wanted to see what she would do in that space. The barrier to entry for film-makers online is now very low, she said name-checking Sanctuary as well as the community around her project, the �Mod Films Beta Band� at http://remixablefilms.multiply.com.
MOD in this case means modifications made by the audience. It is taken for granted in the games industry that this extends the lifespan of a game if you make it open for gamers to tweak and develop. Web-managed production uses the Web 2.0 paradigm to keep track of different threads of the project.
Think of the material on the cutting room floor that never gets seen, said Michaela, as it�s usually copyrighted �all rights reserved�. So instead she has used Creative Commons licences for all the material so nothing will be wasted even if it doesn�t make it into the final cut. It could feature in another version of the film, or in a contributor�s mash-up.
Green-light for remixing & innovation
A lot of discussion has taken place on the community forums. One of the reasons that the story has been written this way is to give the audience themselves the feeling that they taking can take part. This is the first film that has really cleared everything for remixing. Michela disputed the idea that film-makers will always resist other people remixing their work and pointed to the increasingly experimental efforts of Steven Soderburgh and the predictions of NVidia corporation (makers of graphics card technology) that �films will become the prime material source for games�.
Even though a lot of innovation has no business model it is essential that more and more of these experiments take place, she reasoned, because the models will emerge as mass participation accelerates. It�s also about keeping track of film sampling as a cultural process. People are already having an interactive experience around Sanctuary and having an input into this project before it�s even released.
DRM in the true sense of the word...
MOD Films will shortly be releasing a portal that will allow you to navigate film assets like an environment. It�s also about making films for the Semantic Web. It�s digital rights management in the true sense of the word as it�s about helping people manage their rights. The technology will still take a few years to consolidate, she admitted.
Lizzie asked if there is a web of MOD communities out there that Michela has been tapping into? There are a lot of VJs and laptop film-makers Michela explained, and VJ application developers. MOD Films hasn�t yet launched their own social media platform but rather are using other existing platforms at present to seed the discussion among the diaspora.
The main reason they chose CC licences as opposed to the Creative Archive licence is because Michela felt that the licence has to fit into a global rights framework and the CC licence fulfils this criteria.
Amy Jo Kim, Creator of the community strategy for The Sims produced guidelines that Lizzie has drawn on in her own work. These categorise the members of the community as visitor, novice, regular, leader and elder, but it�s the bridges between these states that are the most important parts and that take the most work for the facilitator in the shared space. The idea of the interactive presenter is another area to think about, said Lizzie, adding that she had worked for the BBC to develop the idea from which they created the console for Celebdaq.
ISPs: Camille De Stempel � AOL
In 1997 the Compuserve child pornography case embedded the notion of the conduit on ISPs. Then, in the drafting of the Communications Act of 2003, AOL worked hard with the DTI to have the web removed from regulatory control, instead positing it as a self-regulatory environment, which we should remember is already subject to the laws that already apply offline. Therefore, the web doesn�t need a further plethora of legislation.
In terms of TV Without Frontiers, the UK is the only government currently lobbying in favour of AOL�s and other ISP�s side. What regulation can we have for the second generation internet, Lizzie wondered. AOL are always coming from the point of view that self-regulation works, Camille replied. They also want to engage the government in understanding that there is new technology that allows AOL, for example, to be more flexible. You can�t regulate for trust, she stressed. That�s where self-regulation and working as part of an industry is quite important to AOL. In terms of spam, we throw away 1.5 billion emails a day. AOL are also getting more interaction from consumers that allows them to improve spam detection and filtering.
"Education, not regulation.."
Rather than regulation, they see the need to invest in education, Camille stressed. Research by the LSE and Ofcom is also contributing, and more research will help, not more regulation.
What of AOL in the future, Lizzie asked. The web is changing the world, Camille reflected with the anytime anywhere web, and the Long Tail of supply and demand. In the US they�ve launched �inTV�, a video on demand (VOD) system where you get old 70s and 80s TV series. They also want to facilitate on the social networking front, not with children but with other groups.
To facilitate all that content you need to have second generation broadband, you need to own that last mile, that thanks to local loop-unbundling (LLU) they can now control rather than BT.
Lizzie noted that AOL and Google are now going into the video market and Camille observed that it�s a great way of getting new content without reinventing the wheel.
What advice would she give in terms of opting for education and facilitation rather than regulation? Camille said that the LSE research has shown a big skills gap between parents and children. Once that was accepted as a normal generational thing, but now we should not let that go unchallenged. For example, the AOL parent tool lets parent and child know what is happening, hopefully fostering discussion between them. The major area of focus is how we can help users help themselves and she cited communities that help new users as key, like the super-users or leaders that Lizzie mentioned earlier.
Search and metatags are also increasingly important, Camille added, and this also relates to trust issues. Research on language in metatags is being undertaken to make it as neutral as possible.
Regulation can't keep pace with innovation
In terms of how the codes of conduct from the Home Office Task Force on Child Protection came about, Camille explained that best practice guidelines and codes of conduct are better than legislation as legislation can�t keep up with new products and technologies, nor fit with future products that don�t exist yet, hence the issues with �Television Without Frontiers�.
Sheila Sang of Powwow Interactive asked how AOL policy is evolving around journals and blogs, especially in terms of comments. We accept we have no control, Camille said, and AOL�s policy is now reactive. When you open a new company you have a compliance agenda that you have to tick. But be responsible rather than compliant, she suggested.
The (NSPCC delegate asked if all moderators are police-checked. Camille replied that it�s done by a US company and the police check is part of AOL policy guidelines, although it�s not actually required by law.
Rounding off the chat with Camille, Lizzie reflected that hosting is akin to the job of a presenter, making people comfortable and then stepping back to let people amuse themselves. The more facilitation you can do, the less moderation is required.
EU POLICY: (INTERNET SAFETY): Neil Malone � Cybersapce Research Unit
Looking at the Home Office Task Force and vertical regulation authorities, Neil raised the question of how we can work with user-generated and cross-platform content. Kids are using games to chat and socialise in, and these conversations are often layered and continued across instant messaging (IM). This is very difficult if not impossible to regulate.
From the EU perspective, the EU supports the self-regulatory approach. EU Initiatives include the IAP Code, the Eurobarometer (a survey of EU citizen attitudes), and AwareU. In the UK you have the Internet Task Force For Child Protection on the Internet which takes a multi-stakeholder approach. Neil has been involved in a sub-group of that task force � the Public Awareness group.
Their aims and objectives are:
� Better co-ordination of awareness materials, research and proactive approaches with other countries
� Help for parents in understanding the issues and tools
� nformation for childcare professionals
� Identifying counter-productive messages for children
� Identify those messages that are effective
Initiatives and successes include:
� Audit of and collaboration with 152 content providers
� Assessing emerging risks and looking at what�s coming next (the INSAFE project)
� Develop and promote a European portal for internet safety and awareness
� Provide training and support to national nodes
Innovating across platforms as digital natives move between them seamlessly
The Internet Safety Content Agent (ISCA) Project�s main objective is to disseminate internet safety and awareness-raising tools effectively, and they�ve developed a number of training and awareness events. Originally they wanted to develop a Wikipedia version of Internet Safety Zone (www.internetsafetyzone.com) with professionals - like those gathered at this event - adding, discussing and editing content. However, they have utilised a Content Management System so that this can be done on the live site itself. As kids can jump from one platform and technology to another, self-regulation becomes more important, Neil reflected, and vertical controls don�t work.
A delegate from Digital Outlook asked if they will be passing on this information on developing good practice to commercial digital marketing agencies like themselves who develop interactive entertainment often aimed at and consumed by children. The NSPCC delegate said the NSPCC didn�t know about this work. The delegate from CIMEX wondered if there was any research or analysis of the project�s impact. To these, Neil responded that the work could and would be more widely publicised and he invited everyone to check out the URLs he had given.
POLICY FOR THE 'DIGITAL SOCIAL' INDUSTRY: Tamara Littelton � Acting Chair, eMint & CEO, eModeration
Tamara discussed the concept of �best practice� and referred to the �Good practice guidance for the moderation of interactive services for children� launched in 2005. Providers of user generated content should take into account the following:
� Risk assessment
� Recruitment
� Training
� Data Security
� Management & Supervision
� Escalation procedures
Tamara supported the self-regulation approach, which works with the flexible and ever changing nature of community areas and interactive spaces, combined with the ongoing education programme driven by the Home Office.
In terms of recruitment requirements, she highlighted to the group that new enhanced checking procedures which involves a search of the database and records of offenders and those unsuitable to work with minors is due to be a legal requirement � an outcome of the DFES Bill For Protecting Vulnerable People.
With regards training and data security, many people are aware of the issues around data protection and the secure storage of personal details, however, companies also need to be aware of the obvious and yet forgotten rules. For example if a company is targeting a campaign or website at children, it is important not to allow them to display their personal contact details for all to see as that potentially makes them vulnerable.
The challenge of user-generated content
The explosion of commercial user generated content involving photos and videos has brought with it other new challenges in the moderation arena. Tamara showed the group an example photo which had been rejected by moderators where a child was in front of a house in a seemingly innocuous picture. However, she explained that it was possible to see the numberplate of the car parked in the driveway, the house number and the streetname, information which carries a potential risk, she noted.
Turning to escalation procedures, Tamara explained that the introduction of the Virtual Global Taskforce and the CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) had finally led to some official escalation paths for industry and individuals alike. She highlighted the child safety issues to bear in mind and gave advice on the escalation paths that should be followed including:
� Real-time UK online danger to children/child abuse crime (CEOP � www.ceop.gov.uk
� Real-time international child abuse crime (VGT - www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com)
� Online child abuse images/websites (the Internet Watch Foundation - www.iwf.org.uk
A query was raised as to the safety of social networks such as Bebo where kids put up their telephone numbers and other contact information. Tamara acknowledged that this involved a risk but encouraged the combination of safety measures but above all, education to encourage safer use of the internet by kids and teens. Lizzie commented that teenagers should be progressively introduced to risk, as that is part of the maturation process whereby they become capable of making judgements. Neil added that Bebo et al are realising the dangers of this and they have recently appointed someone to deal with this [*Note: It has subsequently been announced that Bebo have appointed Dr Rachel O�Connell, Director of the Cyberspace Research Centre, who was originally scheduled to speak at this event, as their Chief Child Safety Officer].
In addition to the in-house moderation team, peer-to-peer educational guidance was the most widely applied approach taken by Habbo Hotel (www.habbohotel.co.uk), a Habbo delegate explained, with 14-17-year old super-users taking the lead. It was noted however that they don�t all have the power to teach new users how to use the game, nor can the volunteers be relied upon (in the legal sense) to report bad or risky behaviour, however they are supported by moderators who perform that function.
See the original EVENT OUTLINE
About the Speakers:
Chair: Lizzie Jackson - Editor Internet Safety, BBC; former Manager of BBC Communities; conducting Doctoral research on the facilitation of user generated content.
Lizzie joined BBC Radio in 1982 becoming a senior studio manager in charge of Radio 4. She started Soundbite Productions Limited in 1992 producing series for BBC Radio 2 and 3. She re-trained in Multimedia at Birkbeck and was named 'Multimedia Student of the Year' by the DTI in 1997, this was followed by an EU Funded course for six Television and Radio Producers from across Europe on producing Multimedia run by the BBC, The University of The West of England, Swedish Television and the Institute of Sound and Light in Paris. In 1997 the BBC invited Lizzie to work in the team launching bbc.co.uk, where she co-created 'WebGuide' the BBC's guide to Internet websites, she then built up the BBC�s message boards, live chats and chatrooms from scratch becoming Editor of their online Community. In 1998 she worked with a small team to launch bbc.co.uk/asianlife which was nominated twice in the Guardian's 'Race in the Media Awards.' In 2002/3 Lizzie managed the BBC's Interactive Presenter Scheme, with BBC Talent. She was a founder member of Emint the online community for community professionals (www.e-mint.org.uk)
Michela Ledwidge - CEO, Mod Films
Michela is a film-maker and systems architect. In 2004, she founded MOD Films with an award from the UK National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts to produce re-mixable films and tools for film re-use. She has been a member of the UK Cabinet Office's Special Interest Group on Open Source Software, and the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Committee. In 2001 she made the short film Horses for Courses awarded the Web3d art prize at SIGGRAPH 2001. In 1993, she set up the first web site in Sydney and the new media consultancy, thequality.com, now based in London. http://michela.thequality.com
Camille De Stempel - Head Of Policy, AOL (UK)
Camille joined AOL in 1995 as Customer Services Manager, AOL France, and became Director of Security and Network Policy, AOL Europe, in February 1998. She was appointed Director of Public Policy, AOL Time Warner in 2002 and covers high priority matters such as law enforcement and security, child protection, data protection and consumer confidence issues from a policy perspective. She previously worked for telecoms companies having read Law at University Paris V. Camille is a board member of ICRA, Vice Chair of the Internet Watch Foundation and a member of the Internet Crime Forum. She sits on both the Law Enforcement and Internet Safety ISPA sub-groups. www.aol.co.uk
Rachel O'Connell - Director, Cyberspace Research Centre, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England.
The Cyberspace Unit is currently the UK co-ordinator within SafeBorders, another European Commission funded project working towards a multinational awareness campaign about a safer Internet. The Unit has also carried out research for the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills in the UK. Rachel sits on the Home Office Task Force and Department for Education & Skills Schools Internet Safety Strategy Group. She frequently speaks at online safety and child welfare conferences, and is regarded as an expert in her field by both the British and Irish media. www.internetsafetyzone.com/ Rachel was unable to attend and her colleague Neil Malone came in her place.
Tamara Littleton, Acting Chair eMint and CEO of eModeration
Now CEO of eModeration Limited, an online content moderation and reputation management company (www.emoderation.com), Tamara has an established background in editorial quality control, fault escalation and process management gained from previous work as Product Delivery Director for Chello Broadband, Online Operations Manager for BBC Online and a history in consultancy and publishing. She is a member of the Home Office Sub Committee advising the UK Government on moderation of communities to help safeguard children. She is also Acting chair of e-mint. Tamara is well respected in her arena having been involved in the internet since 1994 and part of the original team that started many of the early BBC communities online. www.emint.org/
Comments
You must be logged in to comment.